Beacon Hill Roll Call

Beacon Hill Roll Call records the votes of local representatives on one roll call and local senators on four roll calls from the week of June 24-28.

Bob Katzen/ bob@beaconhillrollcall.com

THE HOUSE AND SENATE Beacon Hill Roll Call records the votes of local representatives on one roll call and local senators on four roll calls from the week of June 24-28.

HIKE IN GAS TAX, CIGARETTE TAX AND OTHERS (H 3535) House 105-47, Senate 34-6, approved a transportation package that proponents say will raise $500 million through tax hikes. Some opponents of the measure dispute the proponents’ projections and argue that the total in tax hikes will be dramatically more than $500 million.

Provisions include a 3-cent-per-gallon hike in the state’s current 21-cent-per-gallon gas tax, which, beginning in 2015, would also be indexed to inflation. Other provisions include a $1 hike in the current $2.51-per-package cigarette tax, an increase in the tax on cigars and smokeless tobacco, a change in the way utilities are classified for tax purposes, and the reinstatement of tolls at exits 1 through 6 on the Massachusetts Turnpike in Western Massachusetts. The legislation also imposes a new 6.25 percent sales tax on computer system design services as well as services to modify prewritten software.

Supporters said the bill is a reasonable package that will provide $805 million in revenue by 2018 to begin to solve many of the structural and financial problems that plague the state’s transportation system.

Opponents said the proposed tax hikes will hurt already overburdened taxpayers and businesses and urged the Commonwealth to live within its means.

The vote margins in both branches are sufficient to override a possible veto by Gov. Deval Patrick.

In a statement released shortly after the vote, Patrick said, “While I appreciate the efforts the conferees have made, the conference report would not provide the reported $805 million in new revenue for transportation. Therefore, I cannot support this bill in its current form. I expect to return this bill with an amendment and look forward to working with the Legislature to enact it.”

A “Yes” vote is for the tax hikes. A “No” vote is against them.

Rep. Paul Brodeur Yes

Rep. Michael Costello Yes

Rep. Diana DiZoglio No

Rep. Paul Donato Yes

Rep. James Dwyer No

Rep. Lori Ehrlich Yes

Rep. Christopher Fallon Yes

Rep. Robert Fennell Yes

Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante Yes

Rep. Sean Garballey Yes

Rep. Bradford Hill No

Rep. Bradley Jones No

Rep. John Keenan Yes

Rep. Jason Lewis Yes

Rep. James Lyons No

Rep. Leonard Mirra No

Rep. Jerald Parisella Yes

Rep. Kathi-Anne Reinstein Yes

Rep. Carl Sciortino Yes

Rep. Theodore Speliotis Yes

Rep. Steven Walsh Yes

Rep. Donald Wong No

Sen. Katherine Clark Yes

Sen. Sal DiDomenico Yes

Sen. Kathleen Ives No

Sen. Patricia Jehlen Yes

Sen. Joan Lovely Yes

Sen. Thomas McGee Yes

Sen. Bruce Tarr No

OBAMACARE (S 1812) Senate 38-1, approved a bill making many changes to state health care laws to bring Massachusetts into compliance with the new federal health care law, also known as Obamacare.

Supporters said the changes are necessary to comply with federal law. They argued that these changes would expand health care coverage and bring in an estimated $205 million in revenue and savings.

The lone opponent said the bill does not do enough to protect small businesses, which are facing extreme health insurance premium rate increases.

A “Yes” vote is for the bill. A “No” vote is against it.

Sen. Katherine Clark Yes

Sen. Sal DiDomenico Didn’t Vote

Sen. Kathleen Ives Yes

Sen. Patricia Jehlen Yes

Sen. Joan Lovely Yes

Sen. Thomas McGee Yes

Sen. Bruce Tarr Yes

STUDY MEDICAL DEVICE TAX (S 1812) Senate 14-25, rejected an amendment that would require Gov. Deval Patrick’s administration and local medical device manufacturers to conduct a study and evaluation of the impact of the federal medical device tax on the state’s medical device manufacturers and the economy. The 2.3 percent tax went into effect in January and is designed to help pay for the cost of implementing Obamacare.

Amendment supporters said the tax is estimated to cost Massachusetts medical device makers more than $400 million per year and will result in job losses and the cost of the tax being passed along to consumers. They said while the state can’t repeal this federal law, it can conduct a study to show the dire consequences of the tax in order to give more ammunition to the movement to repeal the tax.

Amendment opponents said the state cannot repeal federal laws and argued the study would be a waste of time and state resources. Some said the IRS, slated to play a major part in implementing the health care law, would be better positioned to assess the impact of the tax

A “Yes” vote is for the study. A “No” vote is against the study.

Sen. Katherine Clark No

Sen. Sal DiDomenico No

Sen. Kathleen Ives Yes

Sen. Patricia Jehlen No

Sen. Joan Lovely Yes

Sen. Thomas McGee No

Sen. Bruce Tarr Yes

MASSHEALTH USERS MUST BE VERIFIED (S 1812) Senate 5-32, rejected an amendment that would use a computerized eligibility system to verify income, assets and identity of current recipients and new applicants for MassHealth, the state’s Medicaid program that provides health care for qualified low-income and disabled persons.

Amendment supporters said this cutting-edge system would ensure that only people truly eligible for MassHealth will receive it. They argued it would save the state millions of dollars and help eliminate fraud and duplication of benefits.

Amendment opponents said the system would create a number of problems. They also noted that the Legislature previously approved similar but more workable amendments.

A “Yes” vote is for the verification system. A “No” vote is against it.

Sen. Katherine Clark No

Sen. Sal DiDomenico No (Paired/Absent)

Sen. Kathleen Ives No

Sen. Patricia Jehlen No

Sen. Joan Lovely No

Sen. Thomas McGee No

Sen. Bruce Tarr Yes

(A “pairing” process, used only in the Senate, is a procedure that allows an absent senator to express how he or she would have voted on a roll call. Under the arrangement, the absent senator contacts a senator who is present and plans to vote the opposite way. The present senator agrees to “pair” his or her vote with the vote of the absent senator. Neither vote is counted in the official total — they cancel each other out. This process allows both senators to be unofficially recorded on the roll call.)

ALSO UP ON BEACON HILL

BAN DISCRIMINATION BASED ON HEIGHT AND WEIGHT (H 1758) The Labor and Workforce Development Committee heard testimony in favor of legislation that would prohibit discrimination on the basis of a person’s height or weight. Supporters testified that overweight people are often not hired or not promoted because of their weight and noted this type of discrimination is on the rise and is more acceptable and pervasive than race, gender or sexual orientation discrimination. They argued that often people are unaware they are being discriminated against until after they shed pounds and are suddenly promoted. Dr. Scott Butsch, a gastroenterologist at MGH, said he believes weight discrimination stems from the myth that obesity is a character flaw.

OTHER WORK-RELATED LEGISLATION Another bill on the Labor Committee’s hearing agenda would make workplace bullying and harassment illegal (H 1766). Supporters testified that between 37 and 59 percent of employees in America directly experience health-endangering workplace bullying, abuse and harassment.

Other measures included requiring employers with more than 50 employees to allow workers who are victims of domestic violence, stalking or sexual assault to take up to an annual 15-day leave of absence to address issues arising from the incident (S 853); prohibiting employers from discriminating against veterans (S 853); and requiring all rooms at public schools to be “properly cooled” from May 15 through Oct. 15. The rules and regulations would be established and the term “properly cooled” would be defined by the attorney general (S 881).

FLU VACCINE The Public Safety Committee held a hearing on measures that aim to maximize the number of adults and children who get a flu vaccine and also lower the costs. One proposal would allow local communities to give the vaccine to students in a school building (H 2108). Others would allow qualified pharmacy interns to administer the flu vaccine under the direction of a pharmacist (S 995) and medical assistants to do so under the direction of a doctor (S 1021).

TAX ROLLING PAPERS (H 2570) A bill before the Revenue Committee would impose a new $5-per- package tax on rolling papers used to roll tobacco and marijuana. Supporters say this would raise revenue from citizens who use rolling papers primarily to roll marijuana. Some opponents say the proposed $5-per- pack tax is a ridiculous one that exceeds the cost of the rolling paper itself. Others note that many smokers now buy the papers to roll their own tobacco because of the increased tax on packaged cigarettes.

CELL PHONE RESTRICTIONS The Transportation Committee held a hearing on several pieces of legislation regulating or banning cell phone use. Legislation includes banning the use of all cell phones in vehicles (H 3124); allowing the use of only “hands-free” cell phones in vehicles (S 1647); and prohibiting the use of cell phones in school zones (H 3123).

HOW LONG WAS LAST WEEK’S SESSION? During the week of June 24-28, the House met for a total of 16 hours and 7 minutes while the Senate met for a total of 13 hours and 43 minutes.